OUR VIEW

DHHL must settle claims promptly

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 16, 2013

~~<p>Congress enacted a law in 1921 to help return those with at least 50 percent Native Hawaiian blood to homesteads to promote economic self-sufficiency and self-determination, but it has been stalled ever since. A state judge ruled four years ago that the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands had neglected its trust responsibility since 1959 and it's time for compensation. Further delay would be wholly irresponsible, and the U.S. Interior Department needs to add its weight to demand speedy resolution before more beneficiary plaintiffs in the breach-of-trust lawsuit die waiting.</p><p>A federal-state task force concluded in 1983 that the state had failed to meet its fiduciary obligations to nearly 8,000 applicants on the homestead waiting list. The Legislature recognized that negligence in 1988 by giving beneficiaries the right to sue to obtain their overdue lands. A strong ray of hope to avoid litigation emerged, however, when the state created an administrative panel to hear breach-of-trust claims on homesteading cases between 1959 to June 1988, ranging from long lease waits to lost applications.</p>~~

Congress enacted a law in 1921 to help return those with at least 50 percent Native Hawaiian blood to homesteads to promote economic self-sufficiency and self-determination, but it has been stalled ever since. A state judge ruled four years ago that the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands had neglected its trust responsibility since 1959 and it's time for compensation. Further delay would be wholly irresponsible, and the U.S. Interior Department needs to add its weight to demand speedy resolution before more beneficiary plaintiffs in the breach-of-trust lawsuit die waiting.

A federal-state task force concluded in 1983 that the state had failed to meet its fiduciary obligations to nearly 8,000 applicants on the homestead waiting list. The Legislature recognized that negligence in 1988 by giving beneficiaries the right to sue to obtain their overdue lands. A strong ray of hope to avoid litigation emerged, however, when the state created an administrative panel to hear breach-of-trust claims on homesteading cases between 1959 to June 1988, ranging from long lease waits to lost applications. Login for more...